Till Death Do Us Part

Prologue

She had found his guitar the night before. Since then, she had longed to feel the cool wood in her hands, the course strings beneath her fingertips. She wasn't that good at playing, but she knew a few songs, and she wanted desperately to play them. To hear the strum of the strings arranged into intricate chords she wasn't even sure she remembered. Yes, it had been a long while, and now was her chance.

She waited, trying desperately to conceal her impatience as he got up and wandered down the stairs. Her eyes followed him, resting on the hard muscles of his back as he walked away. Butterflies erupted, causing her stomach to summersault beneath her skin. But the feeling didn't last long. No sooner had his head disappeared from the stairs, she was practically flying across the bed to gather the Epiphone that sat quietly in the corner.
He didn't play with it much, she gathered as she wiped off the thin layer of dust that had accumulated over the passage of time. It was almost heaven, finally holding the guitar in her hands. She lightly picked at the strings, adjusting the pitch to perfect the tuning.
And then it was time.

She didn't have any need for the pick anymore, so she placed it on the sheets next to her and placed her fingers against the strings.
A soft chord played as she moved her fingers lightly over them, and shortly a rhythm began. The chords changed as she moved into the song, a soft, somber ballad she had taught herself a year ago. The artist was her favorite, and she wanted only to do them justice.
But she didn't sing. Not yet. She wanted to be sure she actually remembered the song. She was only vaguely aware of water running in the kitchen sink downstairs. The music enveloped her, and she closed her eyes. Yes, she remembered. Back to one...
"Are you there...? Are you watching me...?" she sang out softly, her mind flowing with the music she created. "As I lie here on this floor..."

"They say you feel what I do...
They say you're here every moment...
Will you stay? Stay 'till the darkness leaves...
Stay-here with me..."

She didn't notice when the water stopped.
* * *
He heard something very strange. He turned off the water and listened carefully, his eyes wandering to the loft in his small home. It was music, but he didn't recognize the song. This wasn't one of his CDs.
It hit him. He remembered her comment about his guitar the night before, and it dawned on him that the music was coming from her. He quietly made his way to the foot of the stairs and careened his neck, listening intently as the sound of her voice filled the room.

"I know you're busy, I know I'm just one...
But you might be the only one who sees me...
The only one...to save me..."

He began to ascend the stairs. Quietly, careful where he placed his feet to avoid the creaks.

"Why is it so hard?
Well, can't you just take me...?
Well I don't have much to go...
Before I fade completely..."

And he saw her, this beautiful angel sitting on the edge of his bed, wrapped in the white sheet they had lay under the night before. Even in the morning, she was beautiful, soft and poised, a real lady.
His mind wandered between the vision that she was, and the soft melody her voice produced. He gently lowered himself to sit on the landing and the top of the stairs, not wanting to disturb her, wanting only to hear more.

"Can you feel how cold I am?
Do you cry as I do...?
Are you lonely up there all by yourself?
As I have felt all my life...
The only one to save mine..."

His heart seemed to swell. He loved her. It was real and evident as anything else in the world. She had said she loved him last night, and he knew it was true, and had replied the like. Though he had felt it as strongly last night as he thought he ever could, today, in this moment, that love had grown into a heartbreaking thunder that roared in his chest, angry and wanting to come out to devour the world in its magnificence and glory.

"How are you so strong?
What's it like to feel so free...?
Your heart is really something...
Your love-a complete mystery to me."

How long would she stay, he wondered to himself? How long before she realized that she wanted something else, and had to break his heart? He would let her go, she deserved someone so much better than himself, someone who could provide for her and give her everything she wanted. Someone unlike himself. No, he would not deny her happiness, but prayed with every fiber of his being that he could give her that happiness.
He listened intently as her song changed, her voice raised higher, ringing like a soft bell that rang in a cathedral in Paris. She sang her sad song with grace and passion, and he wondered if the song had some deep, hidden meaning to her, something harbored she had not told him about yet.

"Are you there watching me?
As I lie here on this floor...
Do you cry-do you cry at me?
Cry with me tonight...

Are you there?
Are you watching-me...?"

As her voice trailed off, and the song neared its close, he got up and walked over to her. Before she had even opened her eyes, his lips were on hers, tender passion and love pouring out of them, giving all of his soul to her. She was surprised, but responded with a deep understanding of what his kiss conveyed to her. She knew, and she approved with every ounce of humanity in her.
Gently, without ever breaking the bond between their lips, he pulled the guitar from her hands and set it silently on the floor. Her lips parted, inviting him in, and he lowered her to the bed, professing his unconditional devotion with every touch that was called love.